"Lightning Release: Lightning Rhinoceros Horn!"
Oteii had gone mad, staking everything on one last desperate move to turn the tide.
Violent lightning chakra enveloped his body, forming a shell of pure energy, making him look exactly like a rampaging giant thunder-beast!
At this moment, the double-sided axe in his hand was the rhinoceros's single sharp horn!
As he charged, a memory suddenly flashed through his mind — back when he had challenged the Fourth Raikage.
It was with this very move that he had managed to wound the Raikage and earn his recognition.
Though, truth be told, the Raikage hadn't been using his full power then.
The tremendous momentum drew everyone's attention.
Even Shinji glanced over, clearly not expecting his opponent to have such a powerful trump card hidden away.
He tried blocking the path with walls of crystallized blood, forcing the attacker to slow down.
But once this terrifying thunderous beast began its charge, nothing could stop it!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Wall after wall was shattered effortlessly.
Shinji wasn't confident he could withstand such force head-on.
But why would he even need to?
"Sleep."
The invisible power of Cursed Words instantly took hold of Oteii. No matter how hard he fought against it, his eyelids slowly grew heavy and closed.
The charging beast instantly became like an out-of-control train, surging straight forward blindly.
Shinji stepped casually aside, easily moving out of the path of destruction.
RUMBLE!
Countless trees were snapped like twigs, and the ground was torn open into a trench over two meters wide.
Oteii only snapped awake when he crashed violently straight into the mountainside.
Huff... Huff...
He panted heavily, the lightning aura around him dimming significantly.
That single move had drained a massive amount of his chakra.
Yet the result had been pathetic — completely ineffective.
And he still couldn't understand what kind of jutsu had forced him to fall asleep at the end. It didn't feel like genjutsu, yet he could think of no other explanation.
What now?
For a ninja who specialized in close-combat and ninjutsu, powerful genjutsu was a natural weakness — almost impossible to counter or even guard against.
And the next second, his location was completely buried under a deluge of blood spears!
At the very last moment, Oteii managed to escape using Lightning Body Flicker.
But before he could even catch his breath, he saw hundreds more blood spears hovering in the air, surrounding him completely from every direction.
My chakra is almost gone. What do I do?
Oteii frowned deeply. He was confident he could break out, but then what?
This enemy was far more troublesome and dangerous than he had ever imagined.
At this rate, his entire squad would be wiped out right here.
And the original mission? It was impossible to fulfill now.
Perhaps... at the very least, someone needs to get this intelligence back to the village.
The thought suddenly crossed his mind.
It wasn't that he was afraid to die. But if the village didn't learn exactly what happened here, others would suffer the same fate in the future.
"Have you thought of your last words yet?"
Shinji stood calmly outside the encirclement. Alone, he was an army unto himself.
"Save your breath! If you think you can finish me, come and try!"
Oteii roared, and charged outward. The fading lightning around his body suddenly blazed bright again, like a final flare before dying out.
However...
"Bind."
Oteii's sprint came to an abrupt, screeching halt!
Immediately after, he was completely swallowed up by the rain of blood spears.
Shinji kept the barrage going for nearly a full minute before finally stopping.
As the dust settled, the scene inside was revealed.
Oteii, clad in his Lightning Armor, was still alive?!
Although the armor was almost completely shattered, and his body was covered in wounds, none of them were fatal. Even the injuries looked surprisingly superficial.
But in truth — the deadly poison coating the spears had already successfully entered his bloodstream.
"Damn... this guy's muscles and bones really are tough as hell."
Shinji couldn't help muttering to himself.
Just thinking about it — the Fourth Raikage must be even tougher and stronger. What a pain that would be to deal with.
Within seconds, the lightning aura around Oteii vanished completely. His face turned gray and lifeless.
Clearly, forcing his body to endure that massive assault had drained not only his chakra but his very vitality.
Yet even in such a hopeless state, he took firm steps forward — walking, then speeding up, then running...
"Die!"
Shinji, for once, did not stop him. He let Oteii charge right up to him, raising his dented and battered double axe high above his head.
Ten-Part Curse Art: Waraku Waraku!
SWISH!
Shinji's Golden Serpent Sword moved faster, striking after but arriving before the enemy.
With ease, it first sliced clean through the axe, then continued upward and severed Oteii's neck in one precise motion.
Pfft...
Blood splattered!
The light in Oteii's eyes faded rapidly. With a heavy thud, he fell to the ground and moved no more.
Only the scarred and ravaged battlefield remained, proving he had been a powerful ninja... though Shinji felt he was more worthy of being called a true warrior.
Over on the other side, Hidan had already finished off the two Jōnin and was busy chasing down the remaining stragglers.
Shinji paid it no mind and let him have his fun.
He walked over to the broken Executioner's Blade stuck in the ground, unstrapped The Glutton's Stomach from his waist, and poured a stream of blood directly onto the shattered weapon.
Absorbing the abundant blood, the blade began to regenerate rapidly. In moments, it was whole and undamaged again.
Shinji nodded in satisfaction. He secured the pouch back in place, then drew the sword and swung it casually a couple of times.
It's definitely a good blade... it's just that it breaks way too damn easily!
Frustrating as hell.
Shinji began wondering if he should take back the Kusanagi Sword from Sasuke, turn it into a cursed tool, and use it himself.
But glancing over at Sasuke — beaten up, exhausted, yet still fighting with everything he had — Shinji couldn't bring himself to cheat or take advantage of the kid.
"Forget it... I'll think about it later. I'm used to it breaking all the time anyway. It is the 'Broken Blade', after all!"
Just as Shinji finished getting himself sorted out, Hidan finished slaughtering everyone left alive.
Then, with surprising seriousness, he performed his ritual and offered every single soul to Lord Jashin.
Tamamo Hotaru looked rather disheveled and worn out. Even the white fox, Moonlight, had taken two cuts while protecting her. It sat licking its wounds, blood dripping down its fur.
Hotaru's tears flowed freely from distress, as if Moonlight was on the verge of death.
Shinji couldn't bear to watch any longer. He walked over, placed a hand on the fox, and cast Reverse Cursed Technique - Healing. In the blink of an eye, all injuries were fully restored.
After all, as pets went, this fox was smart enough. He didn't dislike it — which was the only reason he bothered healing it.
Clearly, Hotaru, who was now hugging the fox tightly and crying tears of joy, didn't deserve the same treatment.
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